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Design a Cozy Reading Nook

Your bedroom is for the rest, and the living room is for lounging. So where do you retreat when you want to be romanticized by Rumi’s passionate poetry or wander to exotic lands by reading sci-fi adventure novels? Design a creative and an intimate reading nook with the following ideas:

Vintage Velvet Loveseat for Reading Nook

Use a piece of furniture designated solely for reading nook where you can loose yourself in a book of your choice. A plush vintage velvet loveseat accented with buttons, and wooden legs create a unique, retro reading space. Kick up your legs for a relaxing Sunday afternoon of bonding with Jack Kerouac on the open road. If you’re really engrossed in a fictional novel page-by-page, you may find yourself hanging over the loveseat’s arm— one hand clutching a book, one hand balancing a glass of Pinot Grigio. Create a charming space with an old-fashioned loveseat in champagne, gold, royal blue or mint green.

Photo courtesy of Amanda Downing via Flickr

Quilt & Pillows for Reading Nook

Especially during dark and frigid winter nights, entangle yourself in a colorful, lush quilt. For the bookworm whose adventures exist between books covers, a beautiful and luxurious quilt is a worthwhile investment. The vibrant and wayward Pilar Quilt or the romantic floral Jolie Quilt will provide the most comforting reading nook for your imaginative journeys. Toss matching pillows in the loveseat’s corners and even scatter pillows on a floor rug in case you move to the ground.

Photo courtesy of Tom Small via Flickr

Alfresco Decor for Reading Nook

Accenting your nook with greenery and floral, whether artificial or alive, invites endless possibilities of nature into your home. Set a tall plant beside your loveseat so its large green leaves tower over you as if you’re nestled high in the treetops of the rain forest. On a small end table, set a vase with wild flowers next to the designated spot where your book resides. If your reading nook has a window, line miniature potted plants along the windowsill. As the sunshine streams through your organically accessorized window pane past a cascading drapery, you’ll be swept away into a far-off place of natural seclusion and wonderment. Natural sunlight and plant life also help calm the mind, whether you’re reading fantastical tales and tragic love stories or textbooks on visual and concept development.

Photo courtesy of Geneva Vanderzeil via Flickr

Accent Wall

If your nook is comprised of two cornering walls, make an aesthetic statement by painting an accent wall a solid color, colorful stripes or an erratic pattern. Using warm colors such as yellow, orange and coral, paint vertical streaks on the wall to emulate sunshine pouring down. Be bold and create a strong energy by painting your accent wall crimson red or go romantic and delicate by painting the wall sea foam green or soft violet.

An alternative to transforming a wall with paint is to make over the space with inspirational wall hangings and decor. Frame quotes from great American writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Surrounding yourself with timeless poetic words such as “what lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you” (Emerson) and “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, made to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time…” (Kerouac). Also, loosely, and chaotically, decorating wall space with vintage world maps or pages of poetry creates an intimate space for dreams and fantasies.

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